Police are Lying Low
People who are lying down may usually be in a position to avoid something. The police seem to find it better to “lie down” or lie low. That is to minimize the excesses of the backlash.
During several days in Malang, East Java, not long ago, I found a flurry of banners adorning the city. They carry the public’s expressions of wrath at the Kanjuruhan deadly riot on 1 Oct. 2022.
As we all know, the tragedy unfolded when security personnel from the Elite Mobile Brigade Unit (Brimob) fired tear gas to break up a section of rioting spectators down the field at the end of the Arema FC-Persebaya match. That caused panicking inside the Kanjuruhan Stadium.
From the field, several security personnel fired tear gas many times into the stands. The stadium being an encroached premise, the gas somehow lingered persistently, causing sore irritation to the eyes. Panicking, spectators tried to save themselves by elbowing their way toward the exit door, which turned out to be locked. Over a hundred spectators succumbed to death, mostly due to stampede.
The gruesome incident later saw an episode of public backlash in resentment at the police. Police cars were damaged; police officers were the target of attacks and swearing. Various community delegations, in the name of seeking justice, have until today been inquiring at the National Police Headquarters, the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister and even the State Palace.
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Approaching the incident aftermath cautiously, police personnel were rarely seen in public places of Malang. Among the throngs passing on the city streets, I hardly saw those in police uniform, let alone traffic police personnel. A police car did pass by, but only occasionally. However, police offices and stations looked normal, with no strict or extraordinarily heightened security surveillance.
The city police chief acknowledged the imposed cautionary measures, as he told me. In order to avoid possible clashes, many personnel deliberately wore plainclothes, or carried out daily public order in a closed manner.
I had expected such a measure in order to avoid public backlash from turning into open clashes. The local police were evidently restrained from the use of stern law enforcement, whether in the form of arrests, detentions or confiscations. Firearms were laid down. We hope that no one will take advantage of the police's extremely restrained policy. This phenomenon, in my opinion as a police observer, is referred to as tiarap pemolisian or “lay-down policing” (comparable in meaning to the English idiom, “lying low”).
Why “lay down”
If the word pemolisian (policing) refers to the use of power, capability and other enforcement resources by the police to bring law and order in society, the word tiarap (lay oneself down or lie down) here carries a connotative meaning. It does not mean that the police are laying themselves down in a literal sense, but demonstrating what someone, who is lying down, can or cannot do.
People who are lying down may usually be in a position to avoid something. It could probably be that they lay down to avoid bullets or stones thrown. On the other hand, with the belly on the ground, someone cannot run straight away or do anything other than cover and press the head down as low as possible.
This is what is happening to our National Police today, at least in Malang. Realizing the rife public backlash, instead of initiating a dialogue that may be seen as being doomed to fail, the police seem to find it better to “lie down” or lie low. That is to minimize the excesses of the backlash. However, by so doing, the police cannot exercise their authority freely or are restricted from carrying out security and order, whether in the form of social-awareness activities, intelligence, patrol or law enforcement.
If that can keep the public under control, why not?
In other words, policing refers to the deliberate action of the police not to activate their authority, capabilities and enforcement resources for certain strategic purposes, which is to avoid conflicts that might arise from public backlash in the form of attacking police officers on duty.
Being the police’s way to make use of a local proverb seribu jalan menuju Roma (a thousand roads to Rome), this policing measure cannot be said to be necessarily negative or inappropriate. If that can keep the public under control, why not?
Ongoing trend
Lying low-style policing seems to be a policing style not only found in Malang, but also in a number of big cities, even in remote areas.
The trigger is evident. In 2022, several major events occurred that put the police under public scrutiny, starting from the murder case of Yoshua Hutabarat by former National Police’s internal affairs head Ferdy Sambo; the arrest of the East Java Police chief, who is now facing charges with embezzling evidence; to the case of a police officer shooting a fellow police officer. The Kanjuruhan case has further degraded the police's image in the eyes of the public.
Although public resistance is not quite widespread, it seems that the police themselves have lost confidence, endured degrading self-dignity in their work and felt bereft of public support (at least morally). This is readily explainable from the results of a recent survey regarding public support for the police, which shows a drastic drop from 70 to around 40 percent.
The loss of confidence and other discouraging factors have made the police in several cities in Indonesia turning to this “lying low” measure. It has been half a year now that we rarely, if ever, hear of the police clashing with demonstrators. Nor have I heard of police raiding certain villages or locations in the context of uncovering narcotics trafficking, for example.
On the other hand, we have learned about the National Police chief instructing the police members against street bust-ups for unruly vehicle owners or traffic violators. The instructions include a warning against the use of tear gas when securing a football match in any situation. In short, as it will usually be learned from ordinary conversations at a coffee shop, the police are now lying low or quitting any normal activities.
Not doing something is considered better than doing something that might lead to worsening the situation. It means the state’s authority and capacity are being rested. Of course, this can lead to further problems in the form of unsolved cases, such as the recent football rioting, and so on.
Accountability
Questions arise when National Police Chief Listyo Sigit stated earlier this year that the public's perception of the police was getting better. The public’s perception is claimed to be increasing when the police do not do much in the context of their main duties. How could that be?
If the claim was true, there must have been something wrong. The police being public service providers in the field of security and law enforcement, the public's need for a sense of security and legal certainty should be an indicator of police performance. If there really is insecurity somewhere and law enforcement needs to serve, do it.
Amid the declining image, the police must heighten surveillance in such a way that suspects should not get away with their crimes. They cannot simply sit back on consideration that the people will potentially resist the enforcement over violations. The situation is akin to traffic at an intersection being left to "Pak Ogah" (volunteering to direct traffic by community members with the expectation of coins from traffic users in return), with drivers left to take care of themselves in traffic jams.
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If this happens frequently, other institutions certainly need to reprimand the police. In central hierarchy, there is the House of Representatives and the government; in the regions, there are the DPRD and the regional government. The question is whether these institutions are aware that the police cannot set performance standards at their own will, but at least consult with them.
Or, even if they are aware, there is a possibility that they are reluctant to reprimand the police, considering the presence of the police is very significant in all areas. They may fear that if the police are reprimanded and become “cranky”, there will be no more patrols at night. That is probably what comes across the minds of regional heads. Thus, the regional heads may have been forced to remain silent and wait until the police are not “laying down” anymore and return to work as usual.
Adrianus Meliala
Adrianus Meliala, Criminologist at School of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), the University of Indonesia
This article was translated by Musthofid.
